Washington DC [US], May 20 : US President Donald Trump on Monday (local time) announced "some progress" in the potential ceasefire negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, following his "two-and-a-half-hour" call with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier in the day.
Speaking at a signing event of a new legislature at the White House, Trump highlighted the ongoing efforts to secure a ceasefire and end the war between Ukraine and Russia, which he described as a "terrible situation", claiming 5,000 young lives weekly.
"We just spent two and a half hours talking to Vladimir Putin, and I think some progress has been made... It is a terrible situation as 5,000 young people every single week are being killed... We also spoke to the heads of most of the European nations, and we are trying to get that whole thing wrapped up... What a shame it ever started in the first place," Trump said during the event.
This came following Trump's call with the Russian President, where the US President stated that Russia and Ukraine would "immediately" begin ceasefire negotiations, with the Vatican offering to host the talks after the recent failure of ceasefire talks in Istanbul, despite the agreement to exchange prisoners between the two nations.
This development aligns with Putin's remarks on his call with Trump, where he expressed readiness to work with Ukraine on a memorandum for a possible peace treaty, emphasising the need to determine the most effective ways toward peace.
Meanwhile, at the event, Trump signed the Take It Down Act into law, landmark legislation aimed at protecting victims of "revenge porn" and "online exploitation".
First Lady Melania Trump, who has championed the cause, delivered remarks prior to the signing, stating, "This legislation is a powerful step forward in our efforts to ensure that every American, especially young people, can feel better protected from their image or identity being abused through non-consensual, intimate imagery... As First Lady, my Be Best initiative is focused on improving children's well-being, encouraging kindness, and creating a safer online environment for our youth. Today, I'm proud to say that the values of Be Best will be reflected in the law of the land."
President Trump, addressing the significance of the new law, said, "It's my honour to officially sign the 'Take It Down Act' into law... With the rise of AI image generation, countless women have been harassed with deep fakes and other explicit images distributed against their will... We're making it totally illegal."
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